He recently made an exception for Josh
Koscheck, though, and now they’re scheduled to meet Feb. 4 at
UFC
143.

“For a long time I’ve just been happy fighting whoever [UFC
matchmaker] Joe Silva put in front of me,” Pierce told the Sherdog Radio
Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “This time I wanted to make a
decision and then I campaigned for it a little bit. Josh Koscheck
just seemed like the right guy. He’s a tough guy. He’s fought for
the title. I think it will be a good fight, and it could do a lot
of things for me in the UFC if I win.”

Koscheck is a top-five welterweight who’s competed at the highest
level in the UFC. Pierce is also a quality fighter, but he’s
working his way up the ranks and isn’t well known. With that in
mind, it could be seen as risky for Koscheck to fight someone as
tough as Pierce who isn’t duly credited.

“From a lot of people’s perspectives, this isn’t a fight that he
necessarily wanted,” Pierce said. “In a lot of people’s eyes, he
has a lot to lose in this, and I understand that. For him to take
the fight is a good thing for me and I appreciate it, but I don’t
think this is one that he was looking forward to taking.”

Although Koscheck has his share of detractors, Pierce didn’t push
for the fight because he hates him. In fact, he said he actually
likes his upcoming opponent.

“I was a fan of him back when ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ first came on
TV,” Pierce said. “He was the wrestler guy. I’ve always been in the
corner of wrestlers. … I always root for them, but yeah, I was a
fan of his and now it’s just at the time where I’ve got to get in
there and fight now.”

Pierce has seen plenty of Koscheck’s fights. He’ll go back and
study more footage to finalize a game plan, but he doesn’t think
either fighter will bring many surprises into the matchup.

“We kind of know what his style is,” Pierce said. “There’s no
secrets with me. Everybody knows basically what my fighting style
is. I like to go forward and press the action. I don’t think
there’s going to be any secrets to divulge here. … I think we’re
going to see a little bit of everything from him and likewise with
me. I’m not sure if it’s going to be a wrestling match because that
could get kind of boring, and there’s not really a lot of action
going on there to kind of show who’s the decisive winner.”

Both fighters have strong wrestling backgrounds, but Pierce fully
expects to exchange strikes with Koscheck. He also hopes to finish
him.

“This is going to be an exciting one,” Pierce said. “I’m going to
come out there, press the action, get in his face and keep it that
way for three rounds if necessary. I’m definitely looking to TKO
him.”

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